but how fabulous would Frances McDormand be as Guinan??? Almost as amazing as Michael Cera’s Wesley, I’m thinking. He’s affable and angsty… could he be science-y, too?

John

I’m totally OK with the gender switches. I particularly like the idea of Gillian Anderson as Dr. Crusher. I like Nathan Fillion as Riker. I’m even OK with the idea of Michael Cera as Wesley. But… Seth Rogen? No. Just, no.

I was not a fan of this show. I think I was busy with Young Riders at the time. But from what I remember of the characters, I think this group would do.

PaulW

This is wrong on soooooooo many levels. I’ve got a hard enough time accepting the new cast for the ToS series (except for Pegg as Scotty… and okay, having Sylar as Spock is good for giggles). Now you want me to picture Nathan Fillion, CAPTAIN REYNOLDS, as Riker?!?!?!?! Ayaaaaaa!

PaulW

And here’s something else: nobody so far is suggesting an actual Frenchman play, you know, a French Picard. Great actor, did a great job in the role, but the character bio was sooooo wrong from the start, they should have put him in as a Brit and not pretend Stewart was French… damn, I’m nitpicking…

I realize half the fun of exercises like this is finding the biggest possible star for each role, but if you’re really trying to assemble a cohesive cast, sticking A-listers like Daniel Craig and Will Smith in supporting parts like Geordi and O’Brien will only lead to trouble (Halle Berry as Storm, anyone?). With that in mind:

First, the “lead” roles of Picard/Data/Worf (always TNG’s answer to Kirk/Spock/Picard – no other characters had the lead in more plot lines):

–“This is not how Star Trek TNG works: they have a “universal translator” that lets them understand all languages, except the enigmatic metaphors of the Children of Tama.”

I know. And that universal translator translates everything into American English. Or not, if we assume it’s translating everything into some other language the Enterprise crew is actually speaking. Doesn’t matter, we just accept that it works.

So why nitpick the accents?

Ozzy

Whoopi Goldberg as Guinen and Dwight Schultz as Barclay are the only “unrecastable” characters in my opininon. Both actors are huge fans of Star Trek and fans kept the francise alive for over 40 years. Show them some respect.
Actually is think that Liam Neeson might be a good choice for Picard.

The more I think about this, there are only a few good reasons to remake (or “reboot”) anything:

1. The original was flawed to begin with, or else has aged poorly, yet had a few really cool ideas that remain relevant today (Battlestar Galactica)

2. The original took a certain tone with a story and characters that could just as easily lend themselves to other interpretations (the various incarnations of Batman, from 1960s camp to 1990s weirdness to 2000s post-9/11 grittiness)

3. The original was very specific to one culture, and could stand to be adapted to make it more directly relevant to another (‘The Departed”s translation of ‘Infernal Affairs’ from Hong Kong to Boston)

4. The remaker intends some radical deconstruction of the source material wherein the act of remaking is, in itself, a form of artistic expression (‘Alphaville’ with its appropriation of the established detective character Lemmy Caution… ‘The Prisoner’ and ‘The Tailor of Panama’ do this, indirectly)

One could argue that the original series stands to be remade on counts 1 and 2 (Shatner’s gloriously bad acting; dated special effects; its specifically 1960s mindset; the sometimes campy tone). However, I’d say the 1980s films already gave us a darker, more serious ‘Trek’ and TNG did much to improve the acting and effects of the franchise while carrying on in the movies’ mood.

Maybe, after some years have passed and the effects of TNG become more laughable or its attitudes become more conspicuously early-90s, we’ll find good reason to remake it, but as for now… it’s just too soon.

Also, I think somewhere in the very late 1980s, special effects crossed a threshold of realism where – with the exception of certain kinds of CGI – they don’t seem all that cheesy. I mean, I can actually imagine cybernetic aliens looking exactly like the Borg do on TNG (apart from the racial homogeneity).

I adore Dwight Schultz too, but, guys, come on! This isn’t about dissing anyone, and it isn’t even saying anyone *should* remake STTNG (or any other show or movie we play this game with). It’s just a playful exercise is imagining actors we like in roles we’re already familiar with.

It’s just meant to be fun, not any kind of directive to Hollywood or any kind of slap in the face to other actors we love.

blake

Worf = Philip Glenister
Q = Bill Nighy

Shadowen

I have a couple problems with the gender switches, MAJ.

The first problem is this: the new Star Trek movie, with its new cast, is not a reboot or remake; it’s a prequel. From a practical standpoint, doing the same thing with TNG wouldn’t be feasible, because most of the crew was brought together in the first episode. (Picard had only recently transferred to the Enterprise, they hadn’t even picked up Riker yet, etc.) All their adventures together have been largely documented. In TOS, they’d been together for some time; we didn’t know as much of what happened before that.

The second problem is this: it is not a reboot or remake, but a prequel. The characters are all the same gender and race (and species). From that standpoint, there’s no reason to change that part of it. It’d be like making Obi-Wan black or Yoda a woman in the Star Wars prequels. There’s no rule saying the characters can’t be…as long as you explain how he got so pale and she got a sex change in time for the original trilogy.

That being said, I’d welcome an actual reboot or remake, at least of the first two seasons, which were campier than the Boy Scouts. It’d also be nice for Wesley to be portrayed as something other than Gary Stu.

As for my cast…

Picard: Patrick Stewart. Like the other person said, you don’t replace Stewart without a damn good reason. And he’s now about as old as he was supposed to be in TNG.
Riker: Hugh Jackman.
Data: Keanu Reeves. (If we go with your gender-switch idea, Tilda Swinton.)
Yar: Either Katee Sackhoff (for obvious reasons) or Amy Allen. It’s kind of a shame we never got to see Aayla Secura be a real badass, but just get an ignominious death (like all the other Jedi). At least Allen will get to beat some people up and shoot them this before getting uncermoniously offed in the first season. Assuming, again, this is a remake and not a reboot.
Troi: Liv Tyler. (If we go with the gender-switch idea, Edward Norton.)
Beverly Crusher: Christina Hendricks.
Pulaski: Joyce Sutherland. She’s awesome.
Wesley Crusher: Michael Cera is always good as the gawky teenager which he had better bloody well be this time ’round.
Guinan: Angela Bassett. The key word, I think, is gravitas.
La Forge: Dwight Ewell.
Worf: Tahmoh Penikett. (I guess changing the race of the actor doesn’t matter so much in this case, as he’s a different species.)
O’Brien: Paul McGillion. Yes, he plays Scottish, but he’s actually Canadian.
Q: Ideally, many actors would play the part, to reflect Q’s nature. Practically, it would be hard for more than one actor to develop a similar rapport with all the main characters. For that reason:
Barclay: Simon Pegg. :D

Oh, and that reimagined credits is kind of bad. The point of a credits sequence nowadays is to show the characters in either multiple scenarios, dynamic action sequences, or both. That version has the advantage that, upon viewing the show, you’d know who each character was, but in every other way the original was superior. :p

Mark

The second problem is this: it is not a reboot or remake, but a prequel.

Actually, the premise is that this is a movie-length remake of an ’80s TV show. The new Trek movie has nothing to do with it. It’s really just an exercise in talking about dream casts for old favorite shows, and gender-switches are totally on the table for that.

[But come on, folks! The casting of TNG, was like it was cast by God, herself!]

JoshB

@Mark: Lots of Whedonverse alumni there. If you’re gonna go that route I think Juliet Landau fits better as Guinan. Laurel Holloman is a natural choice for Yar. I do give points for Gina Torres as Worf.

MaryAnn

The first problem is this: the new Star Trek movie, with its new cast, is not a reboot or remake; it’s a prequel. From a practical standpoint, doing the same thing with TNG wouldn’t be feasible

You’re thinking way too much about this. Just have fun with it. :->

Susie-Flyhead

Nathan Fillion AND Linus Roache???

Mary Ann, you are a woman after my own heart!!

Malcolm Reynolds & Michael Cutter are the two best characters to ever grace my TV screen. Fillion & Roache are both excellent actors. Of course, the talents of Joss Whedon & Rene Balcer have a lot to do with that too!

But I’d watch ANY show that featured Roache & Fillion – even an hour long instructional video on eating cereal.

And Cate, it is Roache that has me anticipating L&O every Wednesday now too. He is superb! In fact, I found this article from a link at IMDB, while trying to learn more about the man & his career. :)

“But I’d watch ANY show that featured Roache & Fillion – even an hour long instructional video on eating cereal.”

Oh, have you seen that video? it’s really quite awesome. they take something as simple as pouring cereal and turn it into a witty and compelling battle between good and evil in such an interesting and subtle way — you’d hardly know it was happening unless you’re paying attention. choices of cereal determine your character. i thought it was interesting they decided to go with Roche as the “dark side” because of Fillian’s work as the evil preacher on Buffy, but it worked really well because Roche just looks so elegant and sophisticated, and the Canadian Mountie outfit on Fillian is awesome.

not an easy video to get ahold of — General Mills is trying to suppress it, you know — but you can look for pirate copies of it under the title “Behind the Cupboard Door” or “Death Among the Pink Hearts.”

Susie-Flyhead

*LOL* You understand perfectly, Bronxbee. AND you are WAY funny! Thanks for that! :)